The present invention is directed to an automated material handling system and method of use for improving wafer processing within an automated wafer fabrication FAB.
Existing sorter operations within an automated wafer fabrication facility (FAB) are not integrated with an automatic material handling system (AMHS). This causes 1) an operator error risk because an operator cannot get enough information to collect and verify wafer map information for precisely supporting wafer level control; 2) low productivity because an operator is responsible for combining, separating, merging, and splitting lots resulting in a heavy operator workload and a bottleneck in the fabrication process; and 3) difficulty in controlling and managing wafer holding devices, wherein the wafer holding devices are typically Front Opening Unified Pods (FOUP) typically, capable of holding up to 25 wafers.
In an existing automated FAB, FOUPs are transferred to fabrication equipment and to sorter load ports via a FOUP transportation system having an overhead transport system in a sequential order in accordance with lot orders communicated from a real time dispatching system. Existing systems have an associated sorter in communication with piece of fabrication equipment, wherein all sorting of FOUPs and wafers within the FOUPs are done in sequence according to a real time dispatching queue. Typically each piece of fabrication equipment has an associated sorter in communication with an equipment""s load port for sorting through wafer cassettes holding wafer lots waiting to be processed by the associated piece of fabrication equipment. Lots not queued for processing within the associated piece of fabrication equipment would remain in a wafer cassette within an associated FOUP, wherein the associated FOUP is routed to the sorter and then the overhead transport system for transporting the FOUP to another piece of fabrication equipment for further processing.
It is desirable to design a special embedded sorter that has a load port embedded into a AMHS stocker, wherein the AMHS system can transfer a FOUP to the embedded sorter""s load port via a stocker crane instead of by the OHT to prevent bottlenecks from occurring during sorting of wafers.
It is desirable to provide an embedded sorter designed to reduce a bottleneck in intrabay or interbay transportation.
It is desirable to provide a sorter automation system to automate splitting, merging, FOUP exchanges, FOUP cleanings, and wafer map verifications to improve production throughput and to reduce mis-operation.
To improve an equipment""s utilization and production throughput, an automatic material handling system (AMHS) in a full automated fab provided to perform multiple lot per carrier operations in a full automated fab, preferably in a 300 mm fab. The AMHS has an AMHS integrated system is integrated with a stocker having an embedded sorter, the stocker in communication with a manufacture execution system (MES), with a real time dispatching system, and with an equipment automation (EA) or a computer integrated manufacturing system to allow for wafer processing by a piece of fabrication equipment without additional sorting or manipulation by the piece of fabrication equipment.
The present invention provides an automated material handling system having:
a FOUP management system, the FOUP management system for managing a plurality of FOUPs;
a real time dispatch system, the real time dispatch system for controlling dispatching of wafer lot orders within a wafer fabrication system, wherein the real time dispatch system is in operative communication with the FOUP management system,
an automatic material handling integration system, the automatic material handling system integration system having
a stocker for storing and sequencing a plurality of FOUPs, the stocker having an embedded sorter disposed there within for sorting wafers within the plurality of FOUPs, wherein the stocker is in operative communication with the real time dispatch system and is in further operative communication with a computer integrated manufacturing system, and
a FOUP transportation system for transporting FOUPs within a wafer fabrication facility, the FOUP transportation system in operative communication with the stocker and in further operative communication with the real time dispatch system to route FOUPs to and from the embedded sorter;
a manufacture execution system, the manufacture execution system in operative communication with the real time dispatch system for controlling recipe processing and for controlling flow of FOUPs within the FAB; and
a computer integrated manufacturing system, the computer integrated manufacturing system for automating equipment, the computer integrated manufacturing system in operative communication with the stocker and with the manufacture execution system, wherein the computer integrated manufacturing is in further operative communication with the real time dispatch.
Preferably, the real time dispatch system has an operation job supervisor, wherein the operation job supervisor has a software decision engine that coordinates with the real time dispatch system to allow for full automation of wafer lot orders within a fabrication facility.
In another preferred embodiment, the stocker has a stocker crane, and at least two load ports in communication with the FOUP transportation system and in further communication with the embedded sorter.
In an additional preferred embodiment, the embedded sorter has at least four load ports, wherein two of the at least four embedded sorter load ports are stocker crane accessible load ports, the two stocker crane accessible load ports in operative communication with the FOUP transportation system for automatically transferring FOUPs from the stocker crane to at least one of the embedded sorter""s two stocker crane accessible load ports according to a predefined sequence, and wherein two of the at least four embedded sorter load ports are operator accessible load ports, the embedded sorter""s two operator accessible load ports are provided to allow for manual insertion of FOUPs by an operator into the embedded sorter; and
a embedded sorter automation system for controlling a FOUP operation scenario to be performed on a FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter.
The embedded sorter automation system operates to transfer at least one FOUP automatically from the stocker crane to at least one of the at least two stocker crane accessible load ports when the real time dispatch system is in an automated mode and operates to transfer at least one FOUP manually from an operator to at least one of the at least two operator accessible load ports when the real time dispatch system is operating in a manual mode.
Additionally, the embedded sorter automation system is capable of performing a FOUP operation scenario in accordance with instructions communicated to the embedded sorter from the manufacture execution system, the FOUP operation scenario selected from the group consisting of:
a FOUP separation scenario,
a FOUP exchange scenario,
a FOUP combination scenario,
a FOUP cleaning due scenario, and
a wafer map verification scenario.
Also, preferably, the FOUP transportation system is in operative communication with the stocker and in further operative communication with the real time dispatch system, wherein the FOUP transportation system has:
a plurality of overhead shuttles for transporting a plurality of FOUPs within a wafer fabrication facility, and an overhead transport system providing a routing system having a plurality of predefined routes for routing the plurality of overhead shuttles, the plurality of overhead shuttles and the overhead transport system cooperate to transport a plurality of FOUPs within a wafer FAB.
A method of using the AMHS of the present invention is disclosed. The method has the steps of:
a) providing an automated material handling system having
a FOUP management system for managing a plurality of multiple lot FOUPs, wherein each of the plurality of multiple lot FOUPs has associated tag information for one or a plurality of lots disposed within each multiple lot FOUP
a real time dispatching system having an operation job supervisor for controlling dispatching of wafer lot orders,
an automatic material handling system integration system having a stocker, the stocker having
two stocker load ports,
an embedded sorter, wherein the embedded sorter has four embedded load ports, and
a FOUP transportation system,
a material execution system, and
a computer integrated manufacturing system;
b) transferring a multiple lot FOUP from the FOUP management system to the embedded sorter;
c) using the embedded sorter to perform at least one FOUP automation scenario defined by the manufacture execution system on the multiple lot FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter;
d) completing at least one FOUP automation scenario on a FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter; and
e) transferring a sorted multiple lot FOUP from the embedded sorter to the FOUP transportation system.